15 Aug Bone Boxes: A Historical Novel, by Skip Ball

I want to give all of my regular readers the opportunity to get a copy of a great just-released book. Bone Boxes by my friend, Skip Ball is a super engaging historical novel that touches on many important Christian themes such of the resurrection of Christ and Christian martyrdom. Here is a brief summary from the author:

A mysterious text appears in the crucifixion account of Mathew 27:52-53. Yeshua’s death was not the end but the beginning. Immediately the sky turns black, an earthquake rocks the ancient city of Yerushalayim while life surges through dead bodies entombed on a nearby hillside. We follow three resurrected people: a murdered child, a beautiful prostitute rescued from a stoning and a prisoner ravaged by demons. They return as Rome executes a campaign to destroy Yeshua’s followers. Surrounded by mystery and supernatural battles, these followers will face a cross of their own in Rome’s amphitheater. A gold ring from Caesar’s household is found in one tomb. The emperor is determined to expose this false messiah as a hoax. They chose to follow Yeshua HaMashiach, regardless of the cost. They become indisputable witnesses to the power of the resurrection in a darkening world. Their choices in Rome’s Amphitheater symbolize the foundation of the 1st century church.

4 Comments

Charles Steinhaus

Posted at 15:00h, 16 August

This passage in Matthew about people being resurrected after Jesus death has always been an interesting one. I’ve never seen anyone try to go anywhere with that concept. Is this a reasonable understanding of what then occurred? Did those who were resurrected literally live again on the earth for a long time or did they ascend to heaven? I would suppose if they were living on the earth for any length of time after being resurrected Paul would have mentioned them in his proofs about Christ being the Messiah …for instance in the Corinthians Passage in which he discussed 500 people who had seen Christ after his resurrection. Thoughts?

Skip Ball

Posted at 14:17h, 21 August

Charles, thanks for your thoughts. Matthew’s account describes several miraculous events. We only know so much but must believe that righteous people rose from the dead at Christ’s death. Did they have bodies like Jesus’ body that could come and go at will, eat with his disciples and finally ascend into heaven, or, did these people return perfectly restored, to live among others as living witnesses to Christ’s resurrection and die again? There must have been many marvelous stories in that group of 500 that Paul didn’t have time to tell or didn’t know in detail. The one thing we know is that an unspecified number of righteous people were resurrected to tell their stories as witnesses. They did have stories to tell and they were divinely selected to return for a time. The disciples hid for fear of their lives. Rome began arresting Jesus’ followers. We also know that from the beginning, there was great persecution of the followers of Jesus. Bone Boxes gives one possible scenario of what might have happened to these courageous witnesses. I think you’ll enjoy the book and it will give you much food for thought. It is footnoted throughout with historical and biblical references.

Valerie Hadley

Posted at 01:52h, 29 August

This is an AMAZING Book!! The best Christian Fiction Book I’ve ever read; it’s characters and storyline captivate you from beginning to end!
Based in 1st Century history, it gives fascinating possibilities to”missing details” of events and people transformed by Jesus; from the Gadarene delivered from a legion of demons, to those who rose from the dead at the time of Christ’s Resurrection (Matt 27:53). It also delivers a uniquely impactful communication of God’s love for us! I would love to see it made into a movie…

That’s my “commentary” on Bone Boxes!
To Charles you pose an interesting question… I don’t suppose there’s any way to really know, since we’re simply not given details. I once heard one brother’s thoughts on Matt 27:53, as follows: He imagined that the power present resurrecting Jesus was so strong, that all the bodies nearby simply got raised up too!! (However it was only “saints” who belonged to God)
In my mind, the only thing that’s clear, is that it seems to be further testimony from God, of His promise of resurrection to those who are His; amen!

It sounds like you’re leaning towards the idea of them ascending to heaven. You certainly could be right… The only thing we know for sure is that Scripture does say in verse 53 that they went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. But did they then ascend when Jesus did (or just after He) ascended? Were they mortal resurrected bodies or glorified?!? How interesting to think what happened–and one day we’ll find out!

In the meantime I think what Author Skip Ball does with the idea in “Bones Boxes” is intriguing and it’s simply a fantastic novel. But more importantly (and regardless of which “view” turns out to be accurate concerning Matt 27:53), Skip USES his storyline to express Christ’s marvelous love and redemption and resurrection power–Including especially–His marvelous power to change and heal the hearts of men!! There’s so much DEPTH in Bones Boxes that goes far beyond the fascinating story itself.

I look forward to reading this! I don’t know where the author will take this, but I think we can view these resurrected saints as the “wavesheaf.” Christ was raised from the red on First Fruits, and while we know that Jesus was the first fruits of the resurrection, there was more than just one stalk of grain that was presented to God on that particular feast day. There was actually a sheaf of wheat that was waved before God. The fact that these scenes were raised together with Christ is an important booster to our faith. It is an additional guarantee to us that just as Christ was raised from death, so shall we also be. It is a help to our faith to see that even in his own resurrection, Christ was bringing others along with him into the fullness of resurrected life. It makes it easier for me to believe that I will also share in the glory of his resurrection, when I see that sheaf raised up together with him, and that he did not rise up alone as a single stalk.

In Leviticus 23 we read:

9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord.

It is indeed true that Christ was the first fruits, but he and the others who were raised with him made up that sheaf.

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